JP2004034904A - Tyre/wheel assembly, run-flat support and manufacturing method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide tyre/wheel assemblies which facilitate the manufacture of various sizes of tyre/wheel assemblies at lower cost and diversification of performances of them at lower cost, and also provide a run-flat support, and further provide a manufacturing method for the same. <P>SOLUTION: The tyre/wheel assemblies insert into a cavity of a pneumatic tyre 2 the run-flat support 3 comprising an annular shell 4 having an outer peripheral side as a bearing plane and an inner peripheral side to be formed into a bifurcated leg and elastic rings 5 to bear the ends of the bifurcated leg on a rim 1. The annular shell 4 is formed through the joint of side edges 7 and 7 of at least two divided shells 4a having each single protruded outer peripheral surface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tire / wheel assembly, a support for a run flat, and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a tire / wheel assembly of various sizes which can be manufactured at low cost and diversification of run flat performance. The present invention relates to a tire / wheel assembly, a run-flat support, and a method for manufacturing the same, which can achieve the above at low cost.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Many technologies have been proposed to enable emergency driving of about several hundred km even when a pneumatic tire is punctured during running of a vehicle, due to market demands. Among these many proposals, the technology proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-297226 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-519279 mounts a core on a rim inside a hollow portion of a pneumatic tire assembled with a rim, The flat core allows the flat tire to be supported, thereby enabling run-flat running.
[0003]
The run-flat core has an annular shell having an open leg structure in which the outer peripheral side is a supporting surface and the inner peripheral side is opened, and the elastic ring is attached to both legs. The rim is supported on the rim. According to the run-flat core, the existing wheel / rim can be used as it is without any special modification, so that it has an advantage that the wheel / rim can be accepted without causing confusion in the market.
[0004]
However, in order to use this run-flat core on the market, it must be manufactured for each rim size or tire size. Will be very large. In addition, if it is desired to change the run flat performance even for the same size, it is necessary to manufacture a new mold, and as the run flat performance becomes more diversified, a further increase in the manufacturing cost becomes an unavoidable problem. .
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a tire / wheel assembly, a run-flat support, and a method for manufacturing the same, which enable a variety of sizes to be manufactured at low cost, and diversification of performance can be realized at low cost. is there.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, a tire / wheel assembly according to the present invention provides an annular shell having a support surface on the outer peripheral side and a bifurcated inner peripheral side in a hollow portion of a pneumatic tire, and the bifurcated leg. In a tire / wheel assembly having a run-flat support comprising an elastic ring having an end supported on a rim, said annular shell has side edges of at least two split shells having a single convex outer peripheral surface. It is characterized in that it is formed by joining the spaces.
[0007]
In addition, the run flat support of the present invention includes an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side with a forked open leg, and an elastic ring for supporting the forked open leg end on a rim. Wherein the annular shell is formed by joining the side edges of at least two split shells having a single convex outer peripheral surface.
[0008]
Further, the method for producing a run-flat support according to the present invention is a method for producing a run-flat support comprising an annular shell whose outer peripheral side is a supporting surface and whose inner peripheral side is bifurcated. The annular shell is formed by joining at least two divided shells having an outer peripheral surface and joining the side edges of these divided shells to each other.
[0009]
According to the present invention, as described above, the annular shell constituting the main part of the run flat support is formed by combining at least two split shells having a single convex outer peripheral surface. If a plurality of types having different sizes or the like are prepared, by appropriately combining them, various types of run flat supports having various sizes and performances can be formed. That is, in the case of manufacturing a plurality of types of run flat supports, the number of types of molds required can be reduced as a whole by combining a smaller number of divided shells than the number of types, thereby reducing cost. Production becomes possible.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In the present invention, the run flat support is formed as an annular body inserted into the cavity of the pneumatic tire. The run flat support is formed to be smaller than the inner diameter of the hollow portion so that the outer diameter keeps a constant distance from the inner surface of the hollow portion of the pneumatic tire, and the inner diameter is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the bead portion of the pneumatic tire. It is formed in dimensions. The run flat support is inserted into the pneumatic tire and rim assembled to the wheel together with the pneumatic tire to form a tire / wheel assembly. If the pneumatic tire is punctured while the tire / wheel assembly is mounted on a vehicle and running, the punctured and crushed tire is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the run flat support. Enable.
[0011]
The run flat support is mainly composed of an annular shell and an elastic ring.
[0012]
The annular shell forms a continuous support surface to support a punctured tire on the outer peripheral side (outer diameter side), and the inner peripheral side (inner diameter side) has a bifurcated shape with left and right side walls as legs. I have. The support surface on the outer peripheral side is formed such that the shape in a cross section orthogonal to the circumferential direction is a convex surface on the outer diameter side. The number of the convex surfaces arranged in the tire axial direction may be only one, but it is preferable that two or more are arranged. By forming the support surface such that two or more convex curved surfaces are arranged side by side, the contact point of the support surface with the tire inner wall surface is dispersed into two or more, and the local wear given to the tire inner wall surface is reduced. It is possible to extend the driving distance.
[0013]
The elastic rings are respectively attached to the ends of the bifurcated legs on the inner diameter side of the annular shell, and support the annular shell by abutting on the left and right rim sheets. The elastic ring is made of rubber or elastic resin, so as to alleviate shock and vibration applied to the annular shell from a punctured tire, and to prevent slippage of the rim sheet to stably support the annular shell.
[0014]
Since the runflat support must support the weight of the vehicle via the punctured tire, the annular shell is made of a rigid material. Metal, resin, and the like are used as the constituent materials. Examples of the metal include steel and aluminum. The resin may be either a thermoplastic resin or a thermosetting resin. Examples of the thermoplastic resin include nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyphenylene sulfide, and ABS. Examples of the thermosetting resin include an epoxy resin and an unsaturated polyester resin. The resin may be used alone, or may be used as a fiber reinforced resin by blending reinforcing fibers.
[0015]
The support for run flat of the present invention is configured by joining an annular shell from at least two divided shells between their side edges on the basis of the above-described configuration. Each split shell has a single convex curved surface on the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, when a plurality of split shells are joined to form an annular shell, on the outer peripheral surface of the joined annular shell, the same number of convex curved surfaces as the number of divided shells used for the joining are arranged in the axial direction. It is formed.
[0016]
When the side edges of the plurality of split shells are joined as described above, the rigidity of the joining portion is increased, so that the rigidity of the annular shell is improved, and the durability of the run flat support can be improved. There are two methods for joining the side edges: butt joining and overlap joining. In particular, in the case of overlapping joining, the effect of improving the rigidity can be further increased.
[0017]
Further, the combination of the plurality of divided shells is not limited to the combination of the same size, but may be a combination of different sizes. By selecting the size in this way, it is possible to manufacture a run-flat support having an extremely large number of sizes. Also, the constituent materials of the split shells to be combined need not necessarily be the same material, and split shells made of different materials may be combined. By the combination of the split shells made of such different materials, the weight of the run flat support can be reduced and the vibration characteristics can be improved.
[0018]
Further, in the present invention, when a plurality of divided shells are joined, their side edges may be directly joined, but indirect joining may be performed with a spacer interposed between the side edges. When the indirect joining is performed with the spacer interposed in this way, run-flat supports having various sizes can be manufactured by appropriately selecting the width. Further, the material of the spacer may be any of metal, resin, and rubber, and does not necessarily need to be the same material as the divided shell. When the spacer material is a metal, the rigidity of the run flat support can be improved. When the spacer material is a resin or rubber, the shock absorption and vibration absorption of the run flat support can be improved. be able to.
[0019]
The joining means between the side edges of the divided shell is not particularly limited. For example, when the shell material is a metal, welding, soldering, bonding with an adhesive, or the like can be used. Also, a caulking method used for fixing the edge of a can can be used. In other words, it is also possible to use a joining in which one edge is sandwiched by bending the other edge, and is strongly pressed from above. When the shell material is a resin, fusion or bonding with an adhesive can be used.
[0020]
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a meridian sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly (wheel) according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0022]
1 is a rim on the outer periphery of the wheel, 2 is a pneumatic tire, and 3 is a support for run flat. The rim 1, the pneumatic tire 2, and the run flat support 3 are formed coaxially annularly around a rotation axis of a wheel (not shown).
[0023]
The run flat support 3 includes an annular shell 4 formed of a rigid material such as metal or resin, and an elastic ring 5 formed of an elastic material such as hard rubber or elastic resin. The annular shell 4 forms a support surface having two convex curved surfaces on the outer peripheral side, and the support surface is separated from the inner peripheral surface when the pneumatic tire 2 is normal, but supports a crushed tire when punctured. It is supposed to. On the inner peripheral side of the annular shell 4, both side walls are opened in a bifurcated manner as legs 6, 6, and elastic rings 5, 5 are attached to the ends thereof.
[0024]
The annular shell 4 is formed integrally with two divided shells 4a, 4a by joining their side edges. Each divided shell 4a has a single convex curved surface on the outer peripheral side, and when the two divided shells 4a, 4a are joined, the respective convex curved surfaces are arranged in the axial direction. The joining means is preferably welding if the shell material is metal, and fusion or adhesive if resin.
[0025]
The joint of the two split shells 4a, 4a is formed so that the side surfaces of the side edges 7, 7 facing each other are overlapped, and the side walls opposite to each other extend radially inward to extend the leg 6, 6 and elastic rings 5 and 5 are attached to the ends thereof. The run-flat support body 3 having the annular shell 4 thus formed is inserted inside the pneumatic tire 2, and the elastic rings 5, 5 are simultaneously mounted on the rim sheets 1s, 1s of the rim 1 together with the bead portions 2b, 2b. Have been.
[0026]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the left and right split shells 4a are connected to each other is exemplified. However, the number of the split shells 4a is not limited to two, and three split shells 4a are connected as in the example of FIG. Or more may be connected.
[0027]
In the run flat support 3 of the present invention, as described above, the portion where the side edges 7, 7 of the split shells are joined together has increased rigidity, and the durability of the annular shell 3 is improved. The form in which the side edges 7, 7 are joined to each other is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 2, one edge 7 is sandwiched by bending the other edge 7, and Alternatively, the side edges 7, 7 may be overlapped with each other by welding or an adhesive as shown in the example of FIG.
[0028]
When the tire / wheel assembly runs on a run flat, the load applied to the annular shell 4 of the run flat support 3 acts more at a position outside the vehicle. Therefore, in the configuration of the split shell 4a in which two or more shells are joined, it is preferable that the rigidity of the split shell located outside the vehicle is larger than the rigidity of the split shell located inside the vehicle, whereby the run flat support 3 Durability is improved. As a method of increasing the rigidity of the split shell on the outside of the vehicle, the material may be made to be more rigid than the material of the split shell on the inside of the vehicle, or when the same material is used, the material of the split shell on the outside of the vehicle may be increased. The thickness may be increased or the width may be reduced.
[0029]
Also, when joining the side edges 7, 7 of the two divided shells 4a, 4a, as in the example of FIG. 4, the joining is performed with a relatively thick annular spacer 8 interposed therebetween. If this is the case, the effect of diversifying the size and performance type of the run flat support 3 can be further expanded.
[0030]
In other words, by changing the width of the spacer 8 to various sizes, it is possible to manufacture run-flat supports of various sizes. Also, as shown in the example of FIG. 5, if the spacer 8 is extended inward in the radial direction and an elastic ring 5 ′ is attached to the end thereof to be supported by the rim 1, the rigidity of the annular shell 3 is further increased and the durability is increased. Performance can be improved. The material of the spacer 8 may be any of metal, resin, and rubber, and does not necessarily need to be the same material as the divided shell. When a metal material is used for the spacer, the rigidity of the run flat support can be improved. When resin or rubber is used, the shock absorbing and vibration absorbing properties of the run flat support can be improved.
[0031]
As described above, in the run flat support 3 of the present invention, the annular shell 4 is formed by a combination of at least two split shells 4a, 4a. By appropriately selecting and combining them, it is possible to form various types of run flat supports having various sizes and performances. That is, when a plurality of types of run-flat supports are manufactured, they can be manufactured by combining a smaller number of divided shells than the number of types, so that the number of molding dies required as a whole is reduced, and cost is reduced. Enables the production of
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the annular shell is formed of a combination of at least two divided shells, if a plurality of types of divided shells having different sizes and the like are prepared, the combination can be changed as appropriate. Since it is possible to manufacture a run-flat support having various sizes and performances, low-cost manufacturing can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a meridian sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a meridian sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a meridional sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a meridional sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a meridional sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a meridional sectional view showing a main part of a tire / wheel assembly according to still another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 (wheel) rim 2 pneumatic tire 3 run flat support 4 annular shell 4 a split shell 5 elastic ring 6 leg 7 side edge

Claims (10)

A run-flat formed in a cavity of a pneumatic tire, an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side opened in a forked shape, and an elastic ring for supporting the forked open leg on a rim. A tire / wheel assembly comprising a support member inserted therein, wherein said annular shell is formed by joining side edges of at least two split shells having a single convex outer peripheral surface. The tire / wheel assembly according to claim 1, wherein a spacer is interposed between side edges of the split shell. 3. The tire / wheel assembly according to claim 2, wherein the spacer extends to a rim of the wheel and is supported by the rim. The tire / wheel assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least two split shells are made of a combination of split shells having different constituent materials. The tire / wheel assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when mounted on the vehicle, the rigidity of the split shell positioned outside the vehicle is greater than the rigidity of the split shell positioned inside the vehicle. An annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side opened in a forked shape, and an elastic ring for supporting the forked open end on a rim, the annular shell having a single convex shape. A run-flat support formed by joining between side edges of at least two split shells having an outer peripheral surface. The run-flat support according to claim 6, wherein a spacer is interposed between the side edges of the split shell. The run flat support according to claim 7, wherein the spacer extends to a rim of the wheel and has a length to be supported by the rim. The run-flat support according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the at least two split shells are made of a combination of split shells having different constituent materials. In a method for manufacturing a run flat support comprising an annular shell having an outer peripheral side as a support surface and an inner peripheral side opened in a forked shape, at least two split shells having a single convex outer peripheral surface are used. A method for manufacturing a run-flat support, wherein the annular shell is formed by joining side edges of split shells to each other.

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